Turkish Court Opens New Case Against Pastor
A criminal court in southeast Turkey has for the second time pressed charges against a Turkish Protestant pastor in Diyarbakir, this time accusing him of “opening an illegal church.”
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Pakistani pastor shot and killed
The pastor of a small church in Pakistan was shot and killed last Friday in the village of Manawala, near Lahore, Pakistan.
Tortured Chinese House Church Leaders Testify for First Time at U.N.
Persecuted Chinese House Church leaders, including tortured and sexually abused women, have for the first time testified at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights amid claims that the Beijing government is increasing pressure on unregistered churches and active believers, ASSIST News Service (ANS) learned Monday April 5.
Eight Pastors Killed in Central Nigeria
Religious violence that erupted in the central Nigerian state of Plateau a few weeks ago has spilled into more towns and villages in that state and beyond, resulting in the deaths of eight pastors and 1,500 Christian believers, and the destruction of 173 churches.
Chinese House Church Christians on Trial as Pastor Flees
Human rights watchdog The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) urged Christians Saturday, March 13, to pray for three representatives of China?s rapidly growing house church movement who it said were due to appear in a Chinese court on charges of “providing intelligence to overseas organizations.”
China: Crackdown on House Churches
In January 2004, top cadres of China’s Religious Affairs Bureau and the policy-making United Front Work Department met for the annual National Religious Working Conference.
Indonesia Orders Tighter Security for Churches this Christmas
DUBLIN, December 22 (Compass) — Police in Indonesia pledged today to provide tighter security for churches during Christmas and New Year celebrations, after one of their own was arrested in connection with the murder of a Christian village chief on the island of Sulawesi.
Egyptian Tortured Christian Re-United with Family
A 30-year old Egyptian Muslim convert to Christianity, who made world headlines, has been re-united with her family after nearly two months “of torture while under interrogation,” a human rights watchdog said Monday Dec. 8.
Accused Terrorists Given Bail in Pakistan
After nine months in jail, two suspects accused of last year’s deadly Christmas night attack against a Pakistani village church have been released on bail for the duration of their trial.
Egypt Releases Tortured Christian Woman
A 30-year old woman who became a symbol of suffering endured by Muslim converts to Christianity was freed after nearly two months of torture and interrogation, a human rights groups announced Thursday, Dec. 4.
Egyptian Christian Captured at Libyan Border
A Coptic Christian secretly married to a woman convert from Islam was arrested for the second time last week while trying to leave Egypt for Canada.
Indonesian Christian Murdered in Poso, Indonesia; 1,000 More Troops Sent in During New Wave of Viole
The Indonesian Central government has sent an additional 1,000 police officers to Poso,in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, after the latest incident of violence against Christians.
Saudi Authorities Release Egyptian Christians
Two Egyptian Coptic Christians jailed by Saudi authorities have been released 17 days after their arrest for establishing an expatriate house church in the capital of Riyadh.
Nigeria Hit by Anti Christian Violence
Nigerian Christians were considering their options Tuesday, Nov 25, after local authorities in Kano reportedly banned Sunday services following Islamic attacks in which churches and dozens of Christian shops were destroyed.
Turkish Court Releases Alleged Attacker
Nearly a month after three suspects were jailed for severely injuring a Turkish Christian distributing so-called “missionary propaganda,” a court in northwest Turkey has ordered one of the alleged attackers released.
Turkmenistan: Religious Minorities Effectively Banned
It was back in 1999 that the Turkmenistan government declared its intention to “strangle minority faiths. All foreign Christians were expelled and the persecution of national believers, especially ethnic Turkmen, intensified intolerably.
Egypt Christians Wounded in Muslim Violence
“Numerous Christian individuals” in Egypt and their properties were attacked by nearby Muslims angry over plans to found a church, an organization representing Egyptian believers confirmed Tuesday Nov. 18.
Bishop Ding Steps Up Attacks on the Gospel in China
Bishop Ding, the most influential leader of the state-controlled Chinese “Three Self” Protestant church, has significantly stepped up his anti-Christian “theological construction” campaign in recent months.
17 OF 22 Egypt Christians Released, But One Dies
17 of 22 Christian converts who were arrested in Alexandria late October, have been granted bail but one of them died and others still in prison suffer “degradation and abuse,” a human rights group said Thursday, Nov. 13.
China: Zhang beaten on first day in labor camp; Christian woman killed
Chinese Christian Zhang Yi-nan was badly beaten by fellow inmates last Monday at the Ping Ding Shan City Lao Dong Jiao Yang Suo. It was Zhang’s first day as an inmate at the “re-education through labor” facility where he is serving a two-year sentence.